JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Traditional Christianity vs. Modern Christianity

Stevie it is all down to perception. Now as a kid I was taught magic tricks and illusions as my grandfather was a pretty good magician. So when other kids at a party believed in magic and mystical forces I knew how the trick was done. The same applies to beliefs. Whilst others totally and blindly belief in whatever they are told, required or expected to believe I look at it form a cynical and skeptical POV. I am dumbstruck as to how some people can be fooled by smoke mirrors and quaint out of date customs.
Now nobody knows for sure if there is a creator or not.....but one thing for sure nobody to date has come up with any explanation that holds any water or is anything other than pure conjecture or preposterous speculative thinking. On the other hand folk have evidence and facts to prove much of this conjecture as being deeply flawed. I tend to accept this evidence until proved different.
It is difficult to see where the word of God starts or the word of man begins. I rather suspect that all of what is accepted as faith and religion is indeed the word of man and solely based on his customs and vivid imagination. I have to laugh at some of the practices and quaint man made customs that have taken over religion. As as outsider I can only scratch my head and ponder as to the reasons why folk participate in such madness. It is also almost impossible even if I believed to pick a faith that does not have silly ideas.
As stated earlier I could not have anything to do with any religion or belief that does not treat women as equals. I certainly could not have anything to do with any religion that condones violence or shows contempt of other faiths or ideas to the point of going to war or wishing harm on them. That rules out every religion I have seen.
Whilst we may have our own ideas about how we came about or were created it is a step too far to organise ourselves and do silly things like pray, cross ourselves, wear silly costumes or participate in other silliness. I rather suspect that none of this would matter to God or would even be worth his notice. Now some people believe that Jesus is the son of God. I find it hard to accept. As Stan pointed out what is the point and if there is only one God as is Believed then how come another one exists alongside him. I also have concerns about the factual nature of the Bible as most of the events take some believing and have been proved to be impossible or unlikely to have happened given the laws of science and history we CAN prove and we know to be true. The story of Noah is physically impossible to have happened given the amount of species on earth and the size of the boat. It would be impossible to collect and then feed and care for such creatures in a large zoo with an army of volunteers let alone using a small family in a tiny boat. As a kid I was told stories about the tooth fairy and Santa Claus and other such made up imaginary things I also was told stories from the Bible. They are ALL about as beleivable and preposterous as each other.